Have you ever found it difficult to decide what kinds of food choices to offer your meeting attendees? Have you ever wondered how a menu comprised strictly of health foods would go over at your event? At one of the continental breakfasts offered at PCMA's 50th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia this past January, attendees chose from some relatively uncommon selections - organic foods that included everything from muffins and breakfast pastries to assorted fruits. The PCMA member who submitted this idea as a Meetings Xperiment reasoned that offering meeting attendees healthy selections shows that you, as their planner, are dedicated to your participants' entire meeting experience, including their health.

But did PCMA Annual Meeting attendees prefer the more traditional (and cholesterol-laden) choices of bacon, eggs, and danishes? Was the breakfast a gastronomic success, or hard for PCMA Annual Meeting attendees to swallow?

Diners Weigh In
To the delight of health advocates everywhere, the majority of attendees who participated agreed that they enjoyed the selection of organic foods offered at the breakfast. "Non-threatening way to introduce organic items," was one attendee's take. "Loved having the protein!" offered another health-conscious diner.

Those who were not fond of the healthful selections confirmed some traditionalists' suspicions. When asked what choices they would have preferred at the breakfast, one attendee listed the conventional choices: "Bacon, eggs, toast, bagels, yogurt." Another: "Turkey bacon or breakfast sandwich, or just the regular continental breakfast!"

Despite a handful of naysayers, nearly all surveyed answered they would, in fact, be somewhat likely to provide an organic food selection at a future event or meeting, although one budget-minded attendee said she "would be interested in the cost difference."

Those unlikely to offer the selections to their attendees had somewhat similar reasons for sticking to the tried-and-true: "Our attendees are not really into new types of foods," stated one. "My group is made up of picky eaters," observed another. "Tradition," determined a third. And, naturally, concerns about price were echoed by a few of the respondents.

However, natural food aficionados, take heart. More were appreciative of the opportunity to sample a variety of more natural and healthy food options than not. "We all could try to eat a little healthier," was one optimistic view. "I like to try new foods," declared another adventurous participant. And it wasn't hard to see why one attendee was fairly certain the health food offerings would work for her crowd: "My attendees are all doctors!" she wrote.

° Julie Fawcett is PCMA's marketing specialist.